TheUSPTORejectsApple'sClaimToA'PinchAndZoom'Patent

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected claims of an Apple patent that covers "pinch and zoom" technology. This could influence Apple’s ongoing patent battle with Samsung in the U.S., according to PCWorld.
The 21 claims of the patent were rejected by the USPTO in a “final office action,” for which Apple has two months to respond. The patent application covered the “ability to distinguish between the scrolling movement of one finger and two-fingers gestures like pinch-to-zoom on a touch-screen to activate certain functions.”
Last year, a California jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages against Samsung over mobile device patent infringements. Claim eight of the patent was involved in Apple's lawsuit against Samsung, according to a filing Sunday by Samsung in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.
As PCWorld noted:

The USPTO rejected in April multiple claims of another patent that figured in the lawsuit, known as "overscroll bounce" patent. Apple, however, said in a filing that the reexamination is not finished, and it is entitled to file a response to the action which may result in a withdrawal of the rejection or certification of the claims under reexamination.